Powerful Women in Black Panther

***WARNING: Haven't you seen Black Panther yet? Oh, well, if you haven't, you may not want to read on, as there are spoilers below. I've seen it, and if we didn't have to watch our pennies, I'd go see it again in the theater. It was that good. So, go on, add to its box office numbers if you haven't already!***

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Black Panther Movie Poster

It's actually really hard for me to talk about Black Panther because I feel like I'm not going to do it justice. There's so many layers to the movie that this measly little blog post won't be able to cover it all. Plus I'm sure there are layers that I don't understand as deeply as many other people. I'll leave those layers to the more knowledgeable ones.

The main layer I want to delve into is all the strong women in this movie! OK, so this isn't really going to be a typical review, but more of a reflection (and I'm going to try to keep it brief). I'll probably mention more than just the strong female characters, but don't expect me to pick the movie apart.

Wow, I have to say, wow. I mean, I'd been looking forward to this movie for a long time. It got to the point where my husband was poking fun at me because I'd squee every time a preview came on. It called to me, and I knew it would be different (in a good way) than the other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And it was. But I had no clue how many powerful women would be in it. This made me love it even more.

Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye -- these three women stole the show. Almost literally. Many times their characters overshadowed Black Panther/T'Challa himself. It honestly felt more like a movie about the people surrounding and supporting Black Panther, not just a focus on Black Panther. And his strongest support are all women.

The beauty of these three women, though, is that they are very different from each other.

Shuri has a razor-sharp wit along with a razor-sharp brain (she totally reminded me of Q from James Bond with all of her awesome gadgets). In a pinch, she's also still willing to jump into a fight. How cool are her panther guns? I may have just ordered a Funko Pop of her yesterday from Hot Topic. ;)

Nakia is the love interest for Black Panther, but she's not fawning all over him, and she makes it clear that her life goals are more important than love. While Black Panther still tries to nudge her, he still understands who she is and needs to be. I love it that he's not trying to protect her the whole movie because he knows she can take care of herself. Nakia also declares she's not a fighter, but a spy, even though by the end she jumps into the fighting and kicks plenty of ass.

Finally, Okoye, is a fierce warrior. One who is devoted to tradition and the culture of Wakanda. She even refuses to support T'Challa's family when he (seemingly) loses the challenge to Killmonger. She fears nothing, and she'll defend whoever's on the throne, unless they break or ignore the rules.

I seriously can't wait until the second movie, and I hope some of these women show up in some of the other movies in the MCU!

One final thought from me, but about Wakanda. I enjoyed the integration of culture and tradition right alongside technological advancement. It was nice to see the technology didn't destroy the culture that existed in this society. There was also a bit of a mix of fantasy among the science fiction with the Heart-Shaped Herb and the spirit realm.

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many layers, and I thought for the most part they were woven together wonderfully.

"Wakanda forever!"

Logan

WARNING: Spoilers! If you haven't seen Logan yet and don't want things spoiled for you, click away now and come back here once you've seen the movie. But if you're the type that enjoys having everything spoiled, by all means, read on! You should still see the movie, though. It's a must, in my opinion, if you like character-driven fantasy.

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Logan Movie Poster

I know, you're thinking I'm losing my touch when it comes to titling my blog posts. The thing is, when it comes to Logan, I think the title of the movie itself does it enough justice because just that one word is so powerful for me and it sums up the movie to a tee.

Now, if you're a fan of superhero movies and walk into Logan expecting a true superhero movie, you're likely to walk out sorely disappointed. There's no aim to save the world, no team banding together to protect the innocent. It's a story about a single man, a reluctant hero, an anti-hero in many respects. No, this isn't a superhero movie at all. It's a gritty, dark urban fantasy. One that's character-driven.

In other words, it was right up my alley. While I do love true superhero movies, my heart will always be much closer to the darkness in a story and in a character.

And since we have this central character in Logan, you don't have other characters fighting for equal screen time, so Logan is developed wonderfully well. In his actions, you see how much Logan cares for Charles. Even though he no longer wants to be part of the world, he refuses to leave Charles behind.

Just because the movie is character-driven, doesn't mean there isn't a lot of action. Looking for a high death count? Yup, plenty of that. You see Wolverine's claws going through lots of heads, among other things.

But the deaths aren't limited to the bad guys. And this is what truly makes it a dark fantasy. Honestly, I knew it was all coming. Charles had the target on his head from the beginning, and I also knew this was the last chapter for Logan. That didn't make those deaths any less heart-wrenching.

Is it hard to tell what I felt about the movie? I know I'm not fan girling, nor am I heaping praise or tearing it down. It's so hard to communicate my feelings about it because it's just that powerful of a movie. My mere words can't do justice to the story that unfolds.

If you like powerful, character-driven movies, you should see it, and let the movie speak for itself.

Not much more to say, but I did want to touch on the ending briefly. I felt a bit cheated after Laura buried Logan, and the kids walked off, disappearing into the trees (I love it that she turned the cross on the grave into an X). We never do find out if Eden actually existed or if it was just a tale. That was my initial gut reaction. But when I thought about it more, it made sense. This wasn't Laura's story. She was simply part of Logan's story, and his story ended at that grave. It wouldn't have made sense to follow her to Eden.

Of course, that doesn't mean we'll never find out. Logan might be gone, but Laura, X-23, is very much alive. And you never know if another movie will come along to continue her story!